Britain Has No Intention of Surrendering Mandate, Govt. Broadcast Says

November 14, 1946

London (Nov. 13)

The British Government has no intention of giving up the Palestine mandate at this time, when the London talks on Palestine are still in progress, a B.B.C. broadcast announced today.

The announcement came in reply to demands voiced by former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament and by Soviet delegate Nikolai Novikov at the United Nations, that the British Government hand over the Palestine mandate to United Nations trusteeship. “Handing over the mandate to the United Nations at this time would merely negate the work already done and would delay a solution of the problem,” the broadcast said. “If the London conference on Palestine fails, then the government may feel that the time has come to give up the mandate.”

The Manchester Guardian, commenting on Novikov’s attack on the British Government for its failure to submit the Palestine mandate to the United Nations, says that it was “exceedingly unfair and exceedingly clever.” However, the paper adds that the Soviet delegate “had a case since we are not carrying out the terms of the original mandate and are not noticeably approaching the day when Palestine will be independent.” Commenting on Churchill’s speech, the Manchester Guardian expressed the hope that the British Government will attempt a new method of approach on the Palestine issue.